Curated OER
Simple Chordal Harmony
Practice makes perfect, especially when playing a musical instrument. This lesson examines simple chordal harmony, melody, and playing with accompaniment. Learners listen to a series of songs that exemplify the concept then play a...
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Focus on Harmony
Harmony is the focus of this band lesson. Upper graders play the Star Spangled Banner, while focusing on harmony, chords, and musical voice. This lesson includes several suggested cross-curricular activities.
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Making Progress: From Chords to Melody
Students review chord progression while listening to tracks of music. They write melodies to fit a given chord progression. They sing their melodies and analyze how it compares to the original melody.
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Composing with Non-Chord Tones to Ornament a Melody
Students develop melodies based on a simple chord progression. They develop the tools need to begin to compose their own music. Students explore the qualities of each NCT and identify them in a composition. They develop listening skills...
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Melody
Students identify what melody is and the different value and pitches in songs with similar notes previously sang in class. Then they apply this knowledge to a new song learned by echo singing. Students also listen for a starting pitch...
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Two by Two Guitars!
Students play three simple chords on guitar while singing American folk songs.
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Elements of Music
Young scholars identify three of the essential elements of music: rhythm, melody and harmony. They discover a simple song which will illustrate these three elements separately and bring them together in a final form. They analyze and...
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Jazz: Expression through Improvisation
Students watch a video on improvisation. They improvise original melodies over given chord progressions. They develop criteria to evaluate the merits of improvisational performances and apply the criteria in their personal listening and...
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"Land of 1,000 Dances!"
Third graders distinguish between changes in pitch. They interpret and analyze different pitches being sounded at the same time. Students recognize and analyze a different style from a different ensemble. They listen to different melodies.
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VH1 Classic Presents: Paul McCartney: Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, Lesson 3
Students in a guitar class perform the Beatles song, Eleonor Rigby and study it's melodic and harmonic structures. They discover the process of arranging the song for a 4-part guitar ensemble.
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Haydn 's Surprise
Young scholars explore the background of Haydn's Surprise and the texture of the music. The teacher uses mouse and lion puppets to demonstrate soft and loud music. They tiptoe and stomp to display the concept. and play a soft/loud...
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West Virginia Def PB Wants You!
Students write, adapt, and compose a song related to the West Virginia State Museum. In this music instructional activity, students create a composition for a work of visual art. Students incorporate major and minor melodies.
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Experimental Music
Students test people's response to different kinds of music. In this music lesson plan, students associate different cords with different feelings or moods. They then observe a video that describes different feelings related to different...
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Describing Music
Fifth graders listen to the 9th symphony and identify the tiri-ti rhythm. They identify the number of times they hear a phrase "turn, turn, turn". They then describe the meaning of one song and answer questions in class discussion.
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Keyboard centers with Music You Can Read
Students play the letters provided in the format "Keyboard/Xylophone/Tone Bells" with the intention of using the "Music Only" format as skills progress. They study fingerings and chords when appropriate to skills.
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Twelve-Bar Blues
Students examine blues music. In this music genres activity, students discover details about the history of the musical genre and compositional techniques. Students then compose melodies of their own with 12-bar blues chord progression.
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Wyclef Jean for VH1 Storytellers
Students use different folk songs to learn chords and other musical elements.
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William Tell Overture: Finale
Pupils analyze the William Tell Overture for meter and conducting, among other musical concepts in a three-lesson unit. They practice conducting patterns and identify eighth and quarter notes and chord roots.
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Music
Fourth graders are introduced to the ABA form of music through singing and playing instruments. Using music, they practice reading the notations and improvising melodies. They also sing in duets and trios in various keys to end the...
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A Wing and a Prayer
Fourth graders improvise missing harmony accompaniment for a soloist performing "The Star Spangled Banner." Groups select several familiar melodies that they can produce while individual students take turns improvising a new harmony part.
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GCSE Notes 2000: Classical Music
Classical period music is defined by its characteristics and distinctive sound. A set of notes assists upper graders in recalling and analyzing music from the classical period based on musical terminology. An example analysis of Eine...
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Fats Waller, Handful of Keys
Playing piano is great fun and playing jazz is even better. Kids watch a video of Fats Waller playing the song, "Handful of Keys," they then use either a piano key print out or Orff instruments to practice his signature stride piano...
Berklee College of Music
Create Your Own Afro-Latin Groove
The backbone of Latin American music is the beat! Young musicians work on blending Afro-Latin rhythms and beat patterns before incorporating the major pentatonic, minor pentatonic, and blues scales in their own compositions.
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Down By the Riverside
Young scholars discuss the musical genre of spirituals and its influence on our musical history. They perform various songs, and read the student score for, Down By the Riverside.